August and September 2026 were a difficult period for Ukrainian businesses. Russian attacks destroyed warehouses, stores, and production facilities, while increasingly frequent air raid alerts disrupted companies’ operations.

According to the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centres, air raid alerts lasted for 21.8% of shopping centres’ operating hours in August, compared with 9.4% a year earlier. The situation worsened in September, when the figure rose to 30.8% — more than twice the level recorded in September 2025.

Businesses also suffered direct losses from the attacks. According to estimates by Forbes Ukraine, since July 2026 Russian strikes have destroyed at least 500,000 square metres of warehouse space in Kyiv and the Kyiv region alone — nearly one-third of the local market.

The consequences of the attacks have also begun to influence staffing decisions at some companies. In August, Rozetka announced layoffs following the destruction of its warehouse in Brovary. In late September, Fozzy Group said it planned to reduce part of its office workforce. According to the company, Russian strikes damaged or destroyed more than 20 of its facilities between 1 August and 25 September alone.

But do these cases reflect a broader labour market trend? Has employers’ vacancy-posting activity changed, and how are job seekers responding? Work.ua analysed data from August and September 2026 and compared it with the same period in 2025 to understand what is happening in the labour market.

The Market Is More Cautious Than Stagnant

Work.ua first examined how businesses assess the situation and what measures they plan to take in the near future. We conducted a survey of 921 respondents.

The survey was conducted on 13 October 2026 among employers using Work.ua.

The survey was conducted on 13 October 2026 among employers using Work.ua.

At the time of the survey, 38% of respondents said that the attacks had not affected their staffing decisions.

Only 8% of the companies surveyed had already made specific negative decisions in response to Russian attacks: slowing or pausing hiring, reducing their workforce, or cutting salaries or benefits. Another 11%, by contrast, had increased or planned to increase hiring.

The largest group of respondents (43%) found it difficult to answer or had not yet made a decision. We cautiously assume that this uncertainty may also have contributed to the decline in new vacancies. In uncertain conditions, it is difficult for businesses to plan workforce expansion, open new branches, and make other long-term decisions.

Employers Are Posting Fewer Vacancies Than Last Year

At the beginning of August 2026, employers posted an average of 6% fewer job opportunities per week than during the same period in 2025. By the end of August, the gap had reached almost 19%. Throughout September, weekly vacancy postings remained 15–18% below last year’s levels.

Company Location and Size Affect the Number of New Vacancies

The figures above are averages. The results vary depending on the region, industry, and company size.

Businesses in Frontline Regions Are Posting Fewer Vacancies

The sharpest decline in new job opportunities was recorded in frontline regions — the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa regions. By the end of August, the number was down by as much as 24% compared with the same period last year. In the final week of September, the gap narrowed slightly to 20%.

In Kyiv and the Kyiv region, August 2026 differed little from the previous year, with vacancy postings down by 2–8%. In the first week of September, however, the gap widened sharply to 19%.

Ukraine’s western regions — the Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Chernivtsi, and Zakarpattia regions — began August 2026 with no significant differences from 2025. During the first three weeks, vacancy posting activity was within 2% of the previous year’s level. By the end of September, the gap had widened to 14%.

Large Companies Have Reduced Hiring the Most

New vacancy postings declined among companies of all sizes, but the drop was most pronounced among large businesses. This may indicate that major market players are taking a more cautious approach to opening new positions.

In the final week of September, the year-on-year decline was:

  • 8% at companies with fewer than 10 employees;
  • 15% at companies with 10–50 employees;
  • 15% at companies with 50–250 employees;
  • 18% at companies with 250–1,000 employees;
  • 25% at companies with more than 1,000 employees.

Retail Recorded the Largest Decline in New Vacancies

The decline in employers’ vacancy-posting activity affected many sectors of the economy, but it was most pronounced in retail.

In the final week of September, employers in the sector posted 2,513 new vacancies, compared with 3,594 during the same period in 2025. That is a difference of 1,081 vacancies, or a 30% decline — the largest decrease in absolute numbers across all industries.

Posting activity also declined significantly in the following industries:

  • 53% — Marketing, Advertising, and PR;
  • 38% — IT;
  • 33% — Agriculture and Agribusiness;
  • 30% — Retail;
  • 28% — Food Production;
  • 27% — Beauty, Fitness, and Sport; Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries;
  • 26% — Construction Materials and Woodworking; Wholesale, Distribution, Import, and Export;
  • 25% — Hospitality and Food Service.

There were also examples of growth. In the defence industry, the number of vacancy postings increased by 166%, from 121 to 322. Posting activity rose by 25% among government organisations, by 17% among non-profit, charitable, and civil society organisations, and by 5% among recruitment agencies.

Employers Are Posting Significantly Fewer Vacancies for Marketing Professionals

How have employers’ needs for different professionals changed? The analysis shows that vacancy numbers declined in 25 of the 28 occupational categories. Growth was recorded in only three.

At the beginning of this article, we mentioned Fozzy Group’s decision to reduce part of its office workforce. Although vacancy numbers alone cannot be used to draw conclusions about layoffs, a certain parallel can be observed. The largest relative declines in new job opportunities were recorded in the Marketing, Advertising, and PR category and the Media, Publishing, and Printing category. At the same time, the trend is not limited to office-based roles: it is also visible in sales, retail, logistics, and manufacturing.

In the Marketing, Advertising, and PR category, employers posted 621 vacancies in the final week of September, compared with 979 during the same period in 2025. That is a difference of 358 job opportunities, or a 37% decline.

Significant declines were also recorded in the following categories:

  • 36% — Media, Publishing, and Printing;
  • 29% — Sales and Procurement; IT, Computers, and Internet;
  • 28% — Agriculture and Agribusiness; Design and Creative Professions;
  • 27% — Retail;
  • 21% — Hospitality, Food Service, and Tourism; Beauty, Fitness, and Sport;
  • 19% — Logistics, Warehousing, and Foreign Economic Activity.

Job Seekers Are Applying More Often, While Employers Are Searching for Candidates Less Actively

While employers are posting fewer vacancies, job seeker activity on Work.ua is increasing. This applies both to the number of people visiting the platform and to those actively searching for work by applying for vacancies or viewing the phone numbers listed in them.

During the final week covered by the research, job seekers submitted 27% more applications than a year earlier. At the same time, employers viewed 24% fewer job seekers’ contact details.

The figures reveal opposing trends: candidates are applying more actively, while employers are showing greater restraint not only in posting vacancies but also in viewing the contact details of potential employees.

Application numbers increased across all regional groups included in the research. The strongest growth was recorded in western regions, at 41%. Applications increased by 23% in Kyiv and the Kyiv region and by 21% in frontline regions.

A similar trend can be seen across occupational categories. The largest increases in applications were recorded in Skilled Trades and Manufacturing (+59%), Real Estate (+58%), Logistics, Warehousing, and Foreign Economic Activity (+44%), and Construction and Architecture (+41%). Marketing vacancies received 36% more applications, even though this was the category in which employers reduced vacancy posting activity the most in percentage terms.

Agriculture and Agribusiness was the only exception, with applications declining by 2%.

Overall, Work.ua data shows that labour market participants are moving in different directions: job seekers are using the platform and applying for vacancies more actively, while employers are posting fewer job opportunities and searching for candidates less frequently.

At the same time, these figures alone do not allow us to determine to what extent the trend was caused exclusively by the intensification of Russian attacks.

The Labour Market Is Changing, but It Is Too Early to Speak of a Crisis

Work.ua data shows that the labour market is indeed changing. Employers are using vacancy postings more cautiously, while job seekers are becoming more active. However, the situation is uneven: trends vary significantly depending on the region, company size, and industry.

It is also important not to overstate the scale of these changes. More than 90,000 vacancies are currently available on Work.ua, while the survey results show that most employers have not reported making negative staffing decisions in response to the attacks. Despite the warning signs, the labour market continues to function and companies continue to recruit employees.

It would also be premature to attribute the recorded changes solely to the intensification of Russian attacks in August and September. Ukrainian businesses have been operating under full-scale war conditions for five years. The consequences may accumulate over time: companies’ financial reserves are gradually being depleted, while prolonged uncertainty makes planning more difficult. Staffing decisions may also be influenced by other economic and market factors.

The research therefore records changes in the behaviour of employers and job seekers but does not yet provide grounds for describing the situation as a large-scale crisis. The labour market continues to adapt to wartime conditions, and further monitoring will be needed to assess the long-term consequences.